Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment. Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~ Mary Howell Cromer

Monday, December 21, 2015

Birthdays, Anniversary and Christmas Week in This Home~

This past week, whoosh...how does one manage to keep up with travel from one town to another before sunrise, visit daughter in hospital 10 to 12 hours a day, for a whole week and manage to stay safe with all of the crazy shopper drivers...well, I take the back roads. That's how. I refuse 95% of the time to ever get on the Interstate, especially I-71 outside of my little town. I got to take Brittany home and we are all so thankful. Now the healing begins.

Last Friday was my husband's birthday and since I was gone all day, we waited until Saturday to have an outing together. Today is my birthday and tomorrow we celebrate our 46 th wedding anniversary!

Friday I left the hospital for long enough to visit the Louisville Collegiate School and watched my twin grands in their Christmas program, as well as join their mom, my daughter Hillary for a nice lunch. I took a meal home to the husby and he was very grateful.

Yesterday I left early to go to my church and watched as a Red-tailed Hawk waited for daylight to go hunting. I pulled into an entrance where Christmas lights were lit, and watched the sky change colour from within those boundaries.

Carolina Wrens are my first bird ever to observe some 35 years ago, and they have come to spend the Winter at our front door and beyond.

The Belted Kingfisher, American kestrel and Red-Shouldered Hawk were all observed when I took my walks a couple of weeks ago.

The Christmas baubles and adornments are just a few of my favorite things.

15 comments:

these sunrises are truly gorgeous Mary. A wonderful reminder of the many gifts we have and to appreciate each and every moment. I do hope that Brittany recovers well. I am sure she will with your love and care. Wishing you also a happy birthday to you and your husband. My husband's birthday was on Saturday 19th! Have a lovely Christmas Mary. Hugs from across the world from me to you.

Hello, Mary! You have been busy. Happy Birthday to you and your hubby. Also happy Anniversary to you both. I am so glad your daughter has left the hospital , I hope she is well now. Love all your birds and the lovely sky images.

I have to say I have fallen head over heels for that little blue Kingfisher - isn't he the most adorable little fellow - I love that hairstyle! It sounds like you are having a really busy time so I'll wish you a belated Happy Birthday and Anniversary and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, and I also wish your daughter a speedy recovery. Merry Christmas!

I'm certain there were no better gifts than the health of your daughter, adoring your grands on the school stage, and having the wealth of your own health to be able to participate and enjoy all these wonderful things this season.

Thank you for sharing these beautiful moments with us through your lens. As always, your world is spectacularly inspiring.

I love and enjoy each visitor to "Red Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond." I truly appreciate those who have become followers to my blog and really am encouraged by the wonderful comments. I also enjoy leaving comments and would like to ask that you please make your blog word verification free! You still have top security settings and you still have control over the comments published. It would make it so much easier, if you would consider doing this. I switched several months ago and am thrilled with the results~

Canticle Of The Sun

~ My Heart Song ~

My desire is to share the very essence of nature through photography which awakens and refreshes me, in that I breathe more deeply, take heart in the stillness it brings, and cherish the fleeting moments in this delicate balance of the rhythmic poetry and whispers of life and always thirst for more. From 9 years of age, I have enjoyed wildlife and nature. That is when my awareness of it's beauty and mystery began to form.

Back in the late 1970's my husband and I became interested in Raptors. We obtained a Federal Permit to Rehab and Release Birds of Prey. We also worked with the Louisville Zoo Administrator Dr. William Foster on this program. I later joined Kentucky Wildlife Line and was covered by a blanket permit, to rehab and release small mammals, for another 8 years. In 1996, I first took notice of a beautiful pair of Red-Shouldered hawks that had nested on our 2 acres, and that was a gift, that just keeps on giving.

One day I was on Google wondering if anyone else out there loved Red-Shouldered Hawks, like I do. I came across a single site...one done by Vickie Henderson. I had never heard of a blog, but she introduced me and encouraged me to begin my own. That was in June of 2009. My blog "Red-Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond", is just one way to share the images from my world.

Normandy Life

Mosaic Monday

Saturday's Critters

Wild Bird Wednesday

Visitors

Having loved horses my entire life, I began creating these Equestrians in the late 1990's, prior to the now famed Gallopalooza horses which later came on the scene. Tingsgrove Equestrians are made using layers of upholstery fabrics that I blend together and then apply to molded forms. Many of these have been sold around the country and shipped as far as Europe~

Nature and photography go hand in hand in my life. My husband has done many nature watercolurs in the past, though, retired from painting these days. It seemed only natural to share one of my favorites on my nature blog~Two Hummingbirds~